


chapel, little apple

by parkrstark



Series: constant as the stars above [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adorable Peter Parker, Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Heavy conversations but kids always make it better, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Peter Parker, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Superfamily (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23896276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkrstark/pseuds/parkrstark
Summary: “What did you want to do? Before all this.”Steve felt his lips upturn into a sad smile. “Before what? Before we were out on the streets?”“I don’t mean it like that,” Tony quickly said, even though Steve didn’t know what way he was talking about. “I just...want to know the Steve before the bad.”“There is no Steve before the bad,” Steve whispered, hating the truth of it. “Before Nat’s was washing dishes in a diner and before that was stocking freezers in a supermarket and before that was taking care of my sick mother.”
Relationships: Peter Parker & Steve Rogers, Peter Parker & Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: constant as the stars above [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585705
Comments: 39
Kudos: 579
Collections: The best written Stony fics out there





	chapel, little apple

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! I've been missing this universe so much. I couldn't wait until the sequel so this is a little something for you all.   
> It hints to a lot in the sequel, so consider it a little teaser.   
> I hope you're still with me and didn't forget about our little family! Enjoy!

“Ellie, look at that! We’re so close we can touch the stars!” Peter shouted as he bounced on his bed in slow motion. 

His bed. Steve never got tired of the way his heart skipped a beat, remembering that Peter had his own bed now. His own bed with his own bedsheets in his very own room. 

It was time for dinner, but Steve couldn’t seem to interrupt his son’s game of make believe. He was wearing his astronaut footie pajamas as he bounced on his bed with Ellie tucked safely in his arms. They were visiting the moon together. 

For the last handful of minutes, Steve had been leaning against his doorway, just watching him play. He loved seeing his son enjoy himself and let himself be a kid finally. It had been a few weeks since everything happened and Peter was still getting used to having a permanent house. Some days he threw tantrums for no noticeable reason and some nights he crawled into bed with Tony and Steve. But sometimes...he was just a kid. 

He was a kid pretending that he was walking on the moon with his best friend, a stuffed elephant named Ellie. 

“I was wondering where you went.” There was a hand grabbing his and a head resting on his shoulder. Tony. 

Steve turned his head and pressed a kiss to the hair on Tony’s head. “Sorry...got distracted watching him play. I just don’t want to stop it.” 

“We still have a few minutes until dinner’s cool enough to eat. There’s no rush.” 

Steve watched as Peter threw Elliot up in the air and caught him. Peter asked him if he caught a star yet. Steve smiled and found himself whispering to Tony, “When we found out we were having a baby, I never thought he’d turn out like this.” The words weren’t mean; they were fond. 

“Like what? Incredibly adorable?”

Steve chuckled along with Tony. “Like...the opposite of me.”

“The opposite of you? I see so much of him in you everyday, Steve.” Tony started to caress Steve’s hand with his thumb. 

“Sure, we’re alike, but...he’s not me. He’s got the mind of a genius. He’s going to be smarter than me one day-- if not already. And his imagination? I never had that. I draw what I can see. What’s real. I don’t like getting my hopes up for the make believe. But Peter? He dreams so much. His dreams are so bright and incredible. I don’t ever want to break them.” 

“You will one day. Probably tonight when you tell him he can’t eat ice cream after bedtime.” Tony shrugged his shoulders. “But who knows, maybe he might be an astronaut one day. He’ll walk on the moon. Catch a star.” 

“He told me the other day he wants to be a ballerina dancer,” Steve said. “And then the next day he wanted to be an elephant.” 

Tony covered his mouth with his hand when he laughed louder than they were whispering. Peter was too caught up in his world of make believe to notice them thankfully. “An elephant? And you  _ don’t  _ want to be one?”

Steve shook his head, laughing along with him. 

Tony’s voice grew serious after his laughter quietened down. “What did you want to do? Before all this.”

Steve felt his lips upturn into a sad smile. “Before what? Before we were out on the streets?”

“I don’t mean it like that,” Tony quickly said, even though Steve didn’t know what way he was talking about. “I just...want to know the Steve before the bad.”

“There is no Steve before the bad,” Steve whispered, hating the truth of it. “Before Nat’s was washing dishes in a diner and before that was stocking freezers in a supermarket and before that was taking care of my sick mother.” 

At the mention of his mother, Tony froze. “I didn’t know.” 

“It’s okay. I know you’re expecting some big story about how I was ready for the world and then money got hard and my dream got put on hold, but that’s not part of my story. I never dreamed of having my own gallery or sharing my art with the world.” 

Tony moved his hand from Steve’s to rub his back softly. “If you want to do that now...after the book...you can.” 

“I don’t know how to dream…” 

“Just close your eyes and imagine the best possible thing--.” 

“But that’s the thing, Tony.” Steve turned to face him. “My entire life, the best thing has just been protecting my loved ones. I don’t know how to dream for myself. When I was a kid, I was always sick. My ma was the one that took care of me because my father couldn’t be bothered. He wanted a son he could throw a football to or hit a baseball with. I couldn’t run up the stairs without needing my inhaler. I wasn’t the kid he wanted...and he made sure to remind me that every day. Whether he told me or not, I knew just by the way he looked at me.”

Tony pulled him away from the doorway so Peter wouldn’t overhear their conversation. “Steve…”

“And I guess I dreamed of the day when I could handle my own and make him proud. But when I outgrew my asthma and crappy immune system, Dad was always too drunk to remember my name. And then the hitting started. It was just a smack here and there. But then, it was beating after beating. It was getting his belt to my back, to my legs, to my chest, to my butt, to my head-- I dreamed of the day he’d put it down and never pick it back up.”

Steve felt his hands begin to shake. Tony held them.

“Of course the day came. I came home from school to find my mother on the floor, picking up shards of one of his beer bottles. The belt got too boring, I guess. Upped it to beer bottles.” He shut his eyes and squeezed his hand into a fist. “I still remember how dark the bruises were on her face. She had such fair skin that the bruises looked black on her face. And then it got worse from there. He was hitting her every night, even when I put myself between them. He'd smack her around until he got bored and then he’d rip off his belt and--.” 

Steve met Tony’s eyes for the first time since telling this. “I was 16 years old. By this point, I’d gone through my growth spurt. I was almost taller than him. I was working out, I was getting ready to defend myself. To defend my mother. But every time that belt came out, I was a scared little kid again. In my senior year of high school I wasn’t able to sit through class because of the welts he left behind from that belt.”

Steve took a steadying breath. He hated talking about his childhood with his father, but he couldn't seem to keep it from Tony.

“I thought if he was too busy with me, he’d leave my ma alone, but one day, I came home from school and her eye wasn’t just bruised, it was swollen shut. That’s when I knew I had to get her out of there. I knew where he kept his stash for more alcohol. I stole the money. I packed up my mom’s stuff, took his money and ran. I found a cheap apartment we could live in until I could get a job and get us on our feet.” 

Steve swallowed, feeling like he was back there again. “I still remember how scared I was. I was always terrified he’d find us. That he’d kill me for taking his money. Taking his wife. But he never came. I never saw him again, but sometimes...sometimes it scares me not knowing where he is.” 

“You’re safe here. I’ve got the best security team in the world. If he’s still alive, I’ll protect you.” 

He could still be alive. If he was, he was in his late fifties. If his liver hadn’t failed yet. But he shouldn’t be alive. A monster like that shouldn't get to live when his mother died so early. 

“It was supposed to be a do over. We were going to start up and live a happy life. But then my mom got sick. Our neighbor was a nice girl, only two years older than me. She helped me take care of my mother through it all. I should have known she wasn’t going to get better, but I wanted to believe. I wanted so badly to have her there for the rest of my life.” 

Tony's hand tightened at that.

“The neighbor and I, her name was Peggy, we got close through the months and my ma loved her. So I asked her to marry me. I wanted my ma to know I was going to be okay. I had someone. And then we had Peter. Might have rushed it a little, but my ma was sick and by then, I knew she wasn’t going to make it long enough. She was there for my wedding, she was there to hold Peter. Towards the end, that was all she was hanging on for.” 

“Peggy was gone too only a few months later. So, it’s good we rushed into things.”

“I’m so sorry, Steve.” 

Steve’s voice was quiet as he said, “Good things don’t last long for me, Tony. You and Peter...I can’t lose either of you. So now, my dream is just to keep you both safe. I can’t lose either of you.” 

Something flashed through Tony’s eyes and a moment of hesitation late, he was saying, “Peter’s four. He’s not going anywhere. And me...I’m older and I’ve got a heart condition, but I’ll fight to be here as long as I can.” 

Steve lifted a hand to place it over Tony’s arc reactor. “Don’t joke about that.” 

Tony leaned forward and lifted himself up on his toes to press his lips against Steve’s. Steve couldn’t help but smile despite the conversation they just had. “You’re allowed to have dreams, Steve. Dreams bigger than just taking care of me and Peter.” 

“I want to grow old with you,” Steve said. 

“I like being in your dream,” Tony whispered, his lips still brushing against Steve’s.

“And I want to watch Peter grow up. And I don’t want to turn into my father. I don’t want to be anything like him.” 

“You’re not.”

“But I am. I’m his son. He’s in here--.” Steve tapped his temple. “Somewhere. And I don’t want Peter to be anything like him. I want him to fall as far from this family tree as he can.”

“He has  _ you  _ in him, Steve. Not your father.” Tony tugged him back over to Peter’s doorway. “Does that kid seem  _ anything  _ like your father?” 

Steve watched Peter cradle Elliot in his arms as he bounced on the bed. He was avoiding asteroids now. 

His father threw out his teddy bear when he turned 5. He was too old to be carrying that ratty thing around. Steve was never going to do that to Peter. If he wanted to, he could bring Elliot to college with him. 

“I see his Pops in him. I see his Pops in him when he’s writing in his journal. I see his Pops when he gives me his good morning kiss. I see his Pops when he tells me about his friends at school. I see his Pops in him everyday. But never have I ever even had a glimpse of that man you told me about.”

Of course, he didn’t. Peter was too good to be like him. 

“What about me?”

“What?”

“Do you see him in me?”

Tony cupped his cheek and rubbed his thumb against his cheek. “Your father? Nah...not one bit. But you know who I do see?”

“Hm?”

“The woman that spent years looking after you. The woman that took care of you when you were sick. The woman that just wanted you to be happy. I see your mom in you.” 

Those words had tears burning Steve’s eyes. “I wish you could have met her.” 

“I wish you could have met mine too. She was perfect.” Tony wiped a tear from Steve’s face as he chuckled. “My father is a different story. Reminds me of yours. Except he didn’t hit us. Too many cameras on us all the time to get away with that. He was never around though. He was always working. Couldn’t spare a minute in his day to spend with me. It’s fine though. When he  _ was _ around, I wished he wasn’t.” 

“Don’t we make quite the pair? Couple of fools with a matching set of Daddy Issues.” 

“Well, know we know how  _ not  _ to act,” Tony chuckled. “Just, y’know, do the opposite of whatever our fathers would do and do exactly what our mothers would do.” 

Steve turned back towards Peter and smiled. “You know what my ma would do?”

“What would she do, love?”

Steve turned to him and winked before hurrying into Peter’s room. “Astronaut Peter, we need your help!” 

Peter froze his jumping and looked to Steve with wide eyes. “Papa?”

“Fellow astronaut Papa! And Astronaut Tony.” He glanced over his shoulder and Tony rolled his eyes fondly before coming into the room as well. “We’ve been stuck on the moon for years!” 

Peter caught onto the game quickly. “You’re stuck?”

“Our spaceship broke down  _ years  _ ago! Can you bring us home?” Steve grabbed Tony’s hand when he was close enough and pulled him against his side. “Astronaut Tony needs to use the bathroom. Hasn’t gone in 30 years.” 

Peter started giggling like crazy. Steve smiled and he felt Tony rumble with a chuckle in his arm. Peter fell to the bed he was laughing so hard. 

“Oh, no, Astronaut Tony! He has a dangerous case of the giggles! How do we stop it?” 

Tony went over to the bed and leaned down by Peter. He began to tickle his sides and Peter’s giggles grew louder and more screechy. “We’ll have to tickle them out of him!” 

“Good plan!” Steve hurried over and began to tickle his thrashing feet. “I’ve got his feet!” 

“N-No!” Peter shouted, trying to push away the hands tickling him mercilessly. “S-Stop! Please!” 

“Is it working?” Steve asked, looking up at Tony. 

“I don’t know! Maybe we have to tickle harder!” Tony’s fingers worked faster to move up and down Peter’s belly. Peter jerked his leg so quickly it almost hit Steve right in the face. 

“S-Stop! No tickles!” 

Tony froze and looked up at Peter, whose face was bright red as he tried to calm his breathing. “Why not?”

“We have to be quiet! Or the aliens will hear us!” 

Tony gasped loudly. “Aliens? Well, don’t you worry. If any alien tries to come get us, I’m going to feed them a tasty astronaut.” 

“Me?!” 

“No, no. You’re too tiny. You’d just be a little snack. We need the biggest astronaut.” At the same time, Tony and Peter both turned their heads to look down at Steve. Steve widened his eyes dramatically. 

“Papa, that’s you!” 

Steve stilled and brought a finger to his lips. “I think I hear one coming,” he whispered. 

“Papa! Hurry into the ship! Before they eat you!” Peter bounced up to his feet and reached for Steve’s hand. 

“Go without me!” Steve cried. “I’ll distract them! Get home safe!” 

“No man left behind, Rogers,” Tony said, reaching for his other hand. 

Steve grinned and grabbed both of their hands, letting them pull him up to safety on the bed. He took his seat next to Peter and looked down at him. “Hurry, Astronaut Peter! Go into hyper-speed before they catch us!” 

Peter started to press imaginary buttons in front of him, bouncing excitedly as he did so. “Astronaut Mr. Tony!” 

Tony laughed at the long moniker Peter gave him. “Yes, Astronaut Peter?”

“Take the star from Astronaut Ellie and keep it safe!” Peter had Elliiot sitting on his lap as he tried flying them away from the aliens. 

“Got it!” Tony reached over and picked Elliot off of Peter’s lap. He pretended to take the star from Elliot’s hands and put him in Steve’s lap. “This star is so bright!” 

“Hurry! Put it away! Aliens will see it!” 

Tony nodded his head and used the hand not holding the star to lift his shirt. Once his arc reactor was exposed, he pressed his hand against it and let out gasp. “I’ve got it safe!” 

Steve laughed at his imagination as Peter cheered him on. “Yay! Good job! We passed the mission!” 

“The mission was to bring home a star?” Steve asked, genuinely curious what Peter’s little mind came up with. 

“Yeah! Now we gotta get home!” 

Steve patted him on the back. “We believe in you, Astronaut Peter. Bring us home.” 

Peter made a big deal of flying the spaceship through space. “Hold on tight! We’re falling!” 

Steve wrapped one arm around Tony and one arm around Peter, pulling them both against his sides. “I’m holding on tight!” 

Peter started to yell and then make crashing noises, which Steve assumed was them landing. Tony and Steve pretended to be crashing to the ground as well. Then Peter quieted down and sighed in relief. “We did it!” 

“Phew!” Steve fell backwards on the bed, bringing Tony and Peter down with him. “That was scary.” 

Peter rolled over on his side and smiled brightly at them. “Thank you for playing Astronaut with me.” He crawled over Steve’s chest and squished himself between Tony and Steve. “I had fun.” 

“So did we, peanut,” Tony kissed the top of his head as he snuggled up with him. 

“I’m glad my boys are home, safe and sound.” 

“You could have fought off the aliens, Papa!” 

“If I had to protect you two, I would have.” Steve relaxed on the mattress and stared up at the glow in the dark star stickers on Peter’s ceiling. “That’s what Papas do.” 

Peter turned towards him and gave him his biggest smile, showing off his tiny teeth and making his cheeks dimple. “I wanna be just like you when I grow up!” 

It was as if he knew exactly what they were saying and the exact anxieties running through Steve’s mind. “You should be better than me.” 

“Better than you isn’t real!” 

“He’s right,” Tony said. “Nothing’s better than you, Papa.” 

Steve looked down at Peter, his baby boy who was so small and so moldable. He was a blank canvas the day he was born and everything Steve did made him who he was today. It was up to Steve to make sure he grew up to be good and to be the exact opposite of his father. 

“If you want to be like me that’s okay...but it’s okay if you don’t want to be. Whatever you want to do, do, baby bear. Papa could never be an astronaut, but if that’s what you want, go walk on the moon. My love will reach all the way to the stars for you.”

“Does your love go that far too, Mr. Tony?" 

"Sure does, kiddo." 

"Mine does too," Peter said softly. "Wherever I go, I'll always love you both bunches." 

Steve chuckled as he pressed another kiss to Peter's temple. He might not have grown up with a dream as bold as Peter's, but he had one now. 

It was better than walking on the moon and being a famous artist. 

His dream was to spend the rest of his life with Tony and Peter. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the song, Chapel by Walker Hayes. Give it a listen. A lot of his songs remind me of this universe.


End file.
